


Opal Eyes

by turtleinahat



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Arranged Marriage, F/F, Fluff, Ivy - Freeform, Kissing, Mutual Pining, Pining, Taylor Swift - Freeform, cottage, just two gals falling in love in the woods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:09:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28538619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtleinahat/pseuds/turtleinahat
Summary: Catra is sent to wait out the winter at Madame Razz's cottage until the snow melts and her betrothed can reach her. She doesn't expect the Razz to have a new housemate, and she definitely doesn't expect said housemate to have the most enticing eyes she's ever seen.A Catradora AU based on Taylor Swift's "Ivy"
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 202





	Opal Eyes

The freezing wind whipped around her enough to blur her vision. Her body was weighted down by the dowry of jewels in her pocket. 

But… there – a faint glow just ahead. Catra pulled her hat down tighter and made towards the hazy glow of what must be her destination.

*

The wind blew the door shut hard behind Catra, but she hardly noticed. She was shaking too hard from the bite of the wind. Brushing off the snow that clung to her arms, she sighed at the warmth that flooded her.

“Lady Catra?” Catra snapped her head up to find a blonde woman staring at her from where she was kneeling at a hearth. In the time it took Catra to blink, the woman was up and moving towards her. “Are you alright? We’d thought you’d postponed because of the storm!”

Catra shook her head, snow shifting off and falling onto the stone floor.

“Unfortunately not.” Catra couldn’t shake her gaze from where it was hooked on the woman’s opal eyes. “Once the pass fills up, it’s impossible to make it here. This place is really inaccessible, you know. And I need to be here when the first snow melts. You understand.”

“Of course, m’Lady,” she nodded. “Huntara will want to see you as soon as the East snow melts, I suspect.” She looked Catra up and down. “I know I would,” she said under her breath, almost despite herself it seemed.

Catra flushed. She must have misheard…

“Anyway!” The blonde continued, cheeks impossibly red, “Please, allow me…” She reached out to help Catra take off her coat. Catra’s breath caught as long fingers skimmed along her shoulders, now only separated from her skin by a thin layer of fabric. She rather joltingly pulled the rest of her arms from the sleeves. She stared at a scuff on the floor’s river stones, praying the girl hadn’t noticed her too-strong-to-be-casual reaction to her touch.

Luckily, she didn’t seem to be blushing too hard herself to notice, walking to hang Catra’s soaked coat on a hook beside the hearth.

“Madame Razz has already gone up to bed, but we should still have leftovers from dinner. Stew. Is that okay?”

Catra tried, she really tried, not to notice the shifting muscles of her back when she stretched up to hang the coat.

“Yes, stew would be wonderful,” she managed to choke out. “I will have to thank Razz for agreeing to host me until the thaw. This engagement is very important to my family.” Right. The engagement. Her engagement, and not the mysterious person with impossibly deep eyes, that was the whole reason she had returned to the cottage after all these years.

“I understand, right this way,” she said and walked through an archway presumably leading to the kitchen. Catra stared after her momentarily, wondering just how much those arms could –

Catra shook her head and made to follow. She was promised to someone, like it or not. Those thoughts had no business floating around her head, and she knew it. Just like she knew this girl had no business being that captivating.

A breath. A beat. And then she followed into the kitchen.

*

Supper extended longer than Catra expected. Adora, she learned to be the woman’s name, smiled easily and told enticing stories. Catra’s eyes barely left hers. If they did, it was only to appreciate her laugh lines grown from years or mirth or the bright smile brought about from hard-fought years of knowing hardship that Catra couldn’t (wouldn’t let herself) imagine.

By the time the two finished, the coals of the soup-pot were nearly black again and Catra was left completely dazzled.

“Lady Catra, your eyes are drooping,” Adora chuckled. “I shouldn’t keep you up so late.” Catra wished she would. “Here, allow me,” and Adora stood to take their bowls back to the kitchen. When she returned, Catra had pushed her own chair in and stood behind it.

“I presume my room is down the hall?” she asked. The cottage was small enough that the only answer could be yes unless Catra was to stay near the hearth (entirely inappropriate for a Lady).

“Yes, m’Lady,” Adora confirmed. She led Catra down the hall and pushed open the last door. “I hope the room is up to your standard. It must be nothing compared to your manor in the south, but I am right across the hall, so please just knock if you ever need anything.”

“The room looks perfect, thank you, Miss Adora.”

Adora blushed, and Catra tried to ignore the giddiness that making Adora blush brought up in her. “Adora. Just Adora is fine.”

“Adora,” Catra repeated, trying the name out in her mouth and finding she very much liked the taste. Adora smiled a little. “Well, then I must insist that I be just Catra. Especially for all the weeks we’ll have to be close until spring. Razz never used titles here when I was young, and I presume that at least hasn’t changed.”

“Indeed it hasn’t,” Adora laughed. “Goodnight, Catra.”

“Goodnight, Adora.”

*

When Catra awoke in the morning, the room was filled with light. She groaned and turned towards the wall. At home, maids and butlers would ready her for the day. She’d wake up to tea ready, spar with a skilled swordsman, and be ready to deal with running a kingdom.

Catra didn’t mind the change of pace that Razz’s home always provided, in fact she welcomed it, but she did not welcome the reminder of what this trip meant. The loss of her independence, signed away by her own ward to some lesser nobility, was not something Catra celebrated.

She pushed away those thoughts, determined to enjoy her last months of freedom.

When Catra had dressed, she made her way into the main room and quickly realized there was complete stillness in the cottage. Slowly, she padded to the window and pushed back the hide drapes.

The storm that had raged so wild last night seemed to have disappeared, leaving only an insurmountable cover of snow. And yet, surmounted it was being. From the window, Catra could make out a red hat at the edge of the trees with a wild blonde ponytail peeking out underneath.

Catra sighed, dawned her now-dry jacket, and opened left the familiar warmth of Razz’s home.

She saw the moment that Adora noticed her. Adora immediately stood straight and smiled at her.

“Catra! Good morning,” she beamed. Catra didn’t know how anyone could smile without their face freezing in this cold, but she supposed Adora’s natural glow kept the chill at bay. Figured.

“’Morning. How long have you been shoveling,” she asked and motioned to the now cleared paths around the cottage.

“Oh, not too long. You know how Razz likes to visit the First Ones Stones.”

Catra hummed her acknowledgement. She must have just missed Razz then.

“She’s still doing that?” Catra asked.

“Every day,” Adora confirmed. “It’s sweet. I’m… not really one for praying though, truth be told.”

“Me neither.” Catra kept her eyes firmly on the ground. Something about Adora’s honesty made her want to give a little piece of herself in return.

“When I was younger, I used to sit on the steps and wait for her to come back every morning. I’m pretty sure half the reason my ward kept sending me back here was hoping I’d see Razz’s devotion and apply that to Lord Prime.”

She snorted at the thought, and Adora cracked a smile. They both knew the Beings Razz worshipped were far from the reign of Prime.

Emptiness filled the clearing for a moment, the two girls facing each other, watching puffs of air appear and fade just as quickly. Their two breaths mingling in the distance between them before dissipating upwards towards whatever Gods really were up there. Catra absently wondered if they ever watched.

A cry from nearby broke the moment. “Catra! Why dearie, how have you been? Come give ol’ Razz a hug!”

Catra turned to see Razz moving quickly towards her from the path presumably leading to the Stones. She braced herself for one of Razz’s hugs and had the breath knocked out of her when it landed. Jeeze, she could rival Scorpia.

“I’ve been good, Razz. I’ve missed you,” she smiled down at the old lady, subtly removing herself from Razz’s grip. Despite her love for the woman, Catra had never managed to completely tap down the panic Weaver had infused in physical touch.

“Come, come, let us get you nice and warm. Back inside, the both of you,” Razz said as she ushered them back towards the house. Over Madame Razz’s head, Catra and Adora shared a glance of fondness.

*

Weaver.

A flash of her face, her mask hovering closer.

The cottage.

It’s so cold. Someone should light a fire. It’s empty though. Where is the fire?

Someone’s coming, someone’s coming, someone’s coming.

They’re coming to take her.

Catra thrashes. She doesn’t want to be taken.

Suddenly, she’s aware of arms confining her, holding her down – are they taking her now? She tries to heave herself away, but the arms hold tight. Slowly, she hears a voice coming into focus.

“Shhh, shhh. You’re okay, Catra. You’re safe. I have you, you’re safe.”

Safe. She’s safe. Catra doesn’t know from what, but she trusts that voice. She trusts…

“Adora?”

“I’m here,” she whispers into Catra’s hair, still holding her close. In the light of consciousness, the touch was more comfort than threat, as if Adora were the only thing holding her together after her nightmare.

They lay together in Catra’s bed, silent, as Catra collected herself.

“Thank – thank you.” Catra whispered from where her head was tucked into Adora’s neck.

“Of course, Catra.” Adora’s voice was far more intimate than propriety allowed, but neither of them cared. “I heard you cry out, and it scared me.”

Catra felt a wave of guilt drown her. “I’m sorry for waking you up. And for making you feel like, like you have to coddle me.” Nevertheless, for once touch felt grounding instead of threatening. That was new.

Adora huffed a light laugh. “No part of you asks for coddling. It’s okay to need help sometimes. You want to talk about it?”

Catra craned her neck back to look into Adora’s eyes. In them she found nothing but sincerity. Catra braced herself by taking a hold of one of Adora’s hands and brining it to her chest. It settled her more than it probably should have.

“Only if you don’t mind,” she breathed, hoping Adora wouldn’t. Adora only pressed a kiss to her forehead, causing Catra’s breath to get stuck in her throat. Her eyes braced closed, Catra continued.

“I don’t… I don’t want to get married.” There. She’d finally said it out loud. “Weaver would hear of it, but the idea of marrying some stranger, or anyone at all really, is terrifying. It’s going to be just like living with her still. I’ve heard stories of Huntara, Adora. I’ll be powerless, locked away like a trophy in some ridiculous castle, just like Weaver’s. They’ll force me out for balls and then shove me back in their little box.”

“No.” Adora’s words were firm. “They won’t, Catra. They can’t. I won’t let them.”

She knew that there was nothing Adora could do about any of this, but Catra let herself believe Adora’s words, let herself believe that Adora cared enough to protect her.

They stayed intertwined for the rest of the night, Catra willing herself to believe Adora would keep her safe, and Adora pretending that she wasn’t falling in love with someone promised to another. 

* * *

Adora's senses came to her slowly. First, her smell. She nuzzled closer to the scent of home. It’d been too long since she’d smelled home, she felt rather than thought. Then was touch. Her arms were wrapped around something nice and warm. Someone, rather, as the little puffs of air against her neck registered as breaths in the back of Adora’s mind. The up-down motion she found herself breathing in time with. She tightened her arms and felt their heartbeats align. “Perfect,” she sighed quietly. “Catra’s perfect.”

Catra. Her eyes shot open to find the side of Catra’s neck. The cries Catra made last struck her again. They had filled her with a fear that was only stoked by Catra’s hesitant explanations. She tried to bring her focus back to the feel of the woman in her arms. She ran her fingers over Catra’s arm, taking in the freckles there. They reminded Adora of the constellations high above the cottage’s clearing. She wondered if Catra would like to watch them rise one night.

Catra’s skin was so, so soft. Adora brushed her nose against it, holding in her breath so that Catra might not wake. She knew if Catra saw her in the light of day, the moment they’d shared last night might not be enough to keep her from kicking Adora out of her room. Gods forbid Huntara ever find out. A fire rolled through her vains, but then Catra made a faint noise of sleep and all Adora’s fury vanished. There was only Catra in her arms. 

Adora could do this every day, and in that moment she could tell that it would never grow old, never feel repetitious or benign. She prayed that Huntara was not the kind of person to take these moments for granted, but Adora was also painfully familiar with her reputation, or her temper’s reputation more like.

The thought of another holding Catra like this made her stomach drop and the fire return. It shouldn’t have. She’d only known Lady Catra for a few days. But already Adora could tell that she wasn’t made like anyone else, this woman who had endured so much and still spat in the face of the Gods. The thought of someone else getting to be the reason Catra’s flame burned brighter…

Space. Adora needed to ease the rolling of her gut. She extracted her arms from around Catra, quietly shifting off the bed. When she paused at the door to look over her shoulder, Catra had moved over to curl up where Adora had been laying before. Something in her chest expanded to fill up every part of her.

As she prepared to get dressed and chop wood for the day, Adora found herself flexing her arms to recall just the weight of Catra had felt in them.

Adora kept very bust the rest of the day. When she finally came in for dinner, she couldn’t help but throw glances across the table. Catra never returned them, but Adora could feel her shooting her own whenever she looked down or engaged with Razz. Said gracious host did not seem to notice anything amiss, humming her pleasure at having her two favorite girls here for winter.

Afterwards, Adora cleared the plates. She tried not to smirk at the feeling of eyes on her every movement, but the fuzzy feeling in her stomach made that hard. Adora scrubbed the dishes faster than ever, eager to sit down on the couch and finally have a moment alone with Catra.

As usual, Razz excused herself to her room soon after, leaving just them sitting in front of the fireplace. Adora held her breath, suddenly forgetting all the words she had been planning to charm Catra with all day. She needn’t have worried though.

“Thank you again,” Catra spoke softly, refusing to meet Adora’s eyes and looking into the fireplace instead. “You know, for last night.”

“Anytime Catra, I mean that.”

“Regardless, I have to apologize. The things I said…” In the face of Catra’s clear hesitance, Adora found the courage to reach out to take her hand.

“I won’t tell a soul,” she promised. Catra’s eyes finally flickered to hers, and Adora was once again caught up in them.

“You are too kind,” Catra breathed in relief. If any of the villagers caught wind of her reluctance, or gods forbid Huntara herself, Catra could lose more than a marriage. Her head came to mind. “In daylight, I realize it was a lot to lay on any strangers’ shoulders, no matter how strong…”

Adora tried to will her hand to not get clammy, but with Catra saying things like that, there was only so much a girl could take.

“Well, it’s a good thing we’re not strangers then, right Catra?” When Catra laughed at the emphasis she put on the lack of formal “Lady,” Adora’s smile stretched across her face. She wished she could bottle the sound, this whole moment, so that they could return to it every time Catra wasn’t smiling like this.

“A very good thing indeed,” Catra smiled back.

They were close now, far closer than they should’ve been and yet not near as close as either of them wanted to be. Adora couldn’t tell which of them closed the last bit of distance, but as soon as she tasted Catra, none of that mattered. All Adora could think was _damn, why haven’t I been doing this my whole life?_

When they parted, their brows stayed pressed together as they breathed in the same air. Adora felt like sharing every bit of herself with Catra, and her breath seemed like a good enough place to start since Catra had already stolen it. In that moment, she felt effervescent. Her soul no longer felt her own, it ached with her bones to become more than herself, to become whatever Catra asked them to be.

Before she could think better of it, she blurted – “Would you like to see my room? Just because, well, I’ve already seen yours. Only seems fair.” Gods, Adora was messing this up. Too much too soon, she knew that, but with one of Catra’s hand still in hers and the other on her cheek, it didn’t feel too soon. It felt lives past due.

“You’re such an idiot,” Catra grinned. She stood and let Adora lead her to the back of the cottage.

*

Catra and Adora spent the rest of the winter learning each other in the way only lovers can. The cold that seeped under the door and through the windows of the cottage threatened their serenity, but the budding flame between them kept the nipping cold well at bay.

Catra found thoughts of Spring coming fewer and fewer while the dread that always accompanied them grew larger and larger. Eventually, Catra could deny it no longer. When she closed her eyes, the future she pictured for herself wasn’t of grand balls or festive jousts. No. Catra’s drams were filled with nothing but opal eyes.

And then she’d wake up to them, propped up on an elbow, waiting for her in the real-world. She had no idea what made Adora want to be hers, what curse had befallen them both to live in a damned story that felt like the holiest blessing. But wrapped up in the warmth of Adora’s love, Catra couldn’t bring herself to care.

For once in her bloody life, she was happy.

*

On the day that would define the rest of her life, Adora woke up before first light. It was nearly impossible to find the will needed to extract herself from Catra’s warmth when it was still so cold, but Adora reminded herself (again and again) that doing so meant they could spend the entire afternoon together.

Razz would be up soon, so she put some logs on the fire before she headed outside. Today she needed to gather more wood for that. So Adora went out into the woods.

The chopping went quickly – Adora had cleared the snow around the base of the trees the week before. She whistled as she did so, already daydreaming of sneaking back into bed with Catra. She hoped Catra hadn’t waken yet. There were fewer views as sweet as the serenity that bathed Catra’s face when she slept, at least when Adora had slept beside her.

When a drop of water on her nose interrupted her fantasy, it was a small moment. Barely a sliver of a second, really, let alone her life, but that one moment shifted things irreparably.

A little drop of water that had sat on top of a pine tree all winter, that had sat there, frozen, all that time Adora’s heart was thawing. It must have changed under the rising sun, run down the needles of the tree, where it fell, ultimately spinning Adora’s world on it’s head. She felt sick.

Spring was approaching.

In the span of a heartbeat, Adora was frozen in time. Somehow, she had fooled herself in to believing this would always be her life. Razz, doing chores and praying at the rocks. Her, chopping wood and clearing snow. Catra… loving her and being loved.

But if one flake of snow could change to rain, then so could the others, and soon the cavalry would come to take her Catra away –

It burned her hotter than flames in the furnace ever could. Her body physically recoiled from it, banishing the thought. But as thoughts do, it lingered.

Adora did not though. Adora needed to tell Catra that she wasn’t ready to lose her and that she didn’t think she ever would be.

*

The house was not far, but Adora’s legs were shaking by the time she reached the front door. She whipped it open and nearly ran over Razz.

“Adora, dearie! My, you look hungry. Everything you’ll need is at the table.” Adora had no appetite at the moment, but she returned a tight-lipped smile.

“Thanks, Razz. I – “

“No need to thank me. It’s all the First Ones. I’ve been praying for you, you know. Food for the stomach and food for the soul.”

Before Adora could ask any questions, Razz pushed past her and made down the path to her First One’s Stones. Adora didn’t watch her walk away, her mind had no room for breakfast or riddles.

“Adora? Are you back?” Her voice called. Adora turned the corner to find Catra cutting into a fresh loaf of bread in the dining room. She looked up at Adora, frozen in the doorway with blood having drained from her face. “Hey, are you okay?” 

Adora couldn’t take it. Couldn’t bare the thought that Catra could feel anything other than the complete devotion that was consuming Adora herself right now. And the sight of that emotion, sparkling clear in the intensity of Catra’s furrowed brow as she stood and approached Adora, only made her need it more.

“Please,” Adora choked. She grasped Catra’s hands firmly in her own. “Catra, run away with me.”

Catra’s eyes went wide. Perhaps she hadn’t expected Adora to be so bold, but Adora had to believe that Catra knew it would always come to this, that she would always choose them and their future.

“The first of spring is here, and Huntara won’t be far behind, I know that. But I don’t want to lose you, Catra. I don’t want to lose you’re hand in mine on our morning walks or the light in your eyes when we try new cheeses or waking up to you in my arms or even your laugh when I do something so unbelievable stupid.”

Her voice grew desperate, but Adora continued trying to convey to Catra the importance of her words.

“I can’t offer you a castle, Catra, or hell, even safety, really. But I can promise you that I will love you every goddam day with every fiber of my heart. And I can’t bare the thought of staying here, of seeing you with – with her,” she spat the last word, not able to say the Lady’s name. “Of staying here with Razz and knowing you are out building a life with someone else, let alone of having to look her in the eye at the ceremony or having to drink her wine at your wedding feast. I can’t. So I’m asking you now, Catra. I love you so much. Let’s find our own way. Starting today. Together.”

Adora knew she was rambling at the end, but it was better than stopping and hearing Catra say no, that she’d rather let the engagement proceed on as planned. Worst of all, that her love was unreciprocated, a one-sided fantasy she’d spun herself in the coldest throws of winter. But she had gone as long as she dared, and now she looked down and found her hands (she’d lost feeling in them somewhere along the way) being gripped tightly by Catra’s. She felt when Catra squeezed her hands once though and raised her eyes to meet her gaze.

The left side of Catra’s mouth quirked up, revealing the smile lines Adora treasured so.

“You had me at ‘please.’”

That was all Adora needed. She pulled Catra in close, and when their lips connected, the kiss was full of every promise they’d ever made to each other in the sheltered safety of the cottage. And when they finally pulled apart, Catra’s eyes made Adora another promise, that those before it would extend beyond the boundaries of this forest. Her next words etched the sentiment somewhere deep inside Adora’s chest.

“I love you too.”

* * *

That night, in the glow of the crescent moon, Catra and Adora gathered their things and fled.

There wasn’t much to pack, just a few clothes and the dowry Weaver had sent with the intent to start Catra’s new life. Adora supposed it was still fulfilling its purpose now, maybe more so now than before. She swore to herself that she would make their future worth it to.

Before they left, Razz took them down to the Stones where they wed before the eyes of the First Ones. Officiated by Razz, the exchange was quiet and quick and everything Adora had ever wanted. The love between them was palpable and would remain so for many, many years to follow.

They were taking a chance. The biggest risk either of them had ever dared to take, but they dared because they dared together. Adora had been like stone before. Her soul was always steady and reliable, a foundation for many in her life. And when Catra arrived, she’d breathed life into all the cold nooks of her heart. Catra had grown up around her before Adora could even realize interwoven they had become. Now they were inseparable, forever to be seen as one entity instead of the two that they had begun their stories as.

When Huntara arrived, her scream was rumored to have shaken the forest itself. But by then, the wives were long gone, running towards their future hand in hand.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! There's nothing I love more than Taylor Swift, and Ivy is my favorite song on evermore. Of course, after the 20th time of listening to it, I had a vivid picture in my head of Catra and Adora experiencing that pure, pining kind of love and had to write it down. This is my first fic so I'd love to hear any feedback or comments!
> 
> You can also find me on twitter as jen_inkwell


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